History

The character of Whit is somewhat of an enigma. His actual age is never mentioned in the audio series, but we can assume he was in his late teens or early twenties when serving in the Pacific in WWII. This would put him to be about 65 at the start of the radio series and about 94 as of 2018 but there is no hard confirmation of that. According to Radio Scripts, Volume 1 and the Original Complete Guide, Whit was born on October 1st, contradicting the The Caves of Qumran which suggests that Whit's birthday is August 14, 1939 which would make him 78 as of 2018.

Early life

Although born in Scotland, Whit does not have a Scottish accent. Whit's family moved to North Carolina when he was a child, where his father, Harold, taught at Duke University and married his stepmother, Fiona Donneral. During a horseback riding accident his stepmother was struck by a branch and lost her sight as a result. Young Whit saw the accident as his fault, but in the end, her faith and contentment about her situation were the biggest influences on his faith. These events were flash-backed to in #49: “Thank You, God”. In #94: “Operation Digout” he also mentions that he was attending Duke University before he was drafted into the military.

Military

Whit served in the U.S. Navy as a signalman on the USS Irongate during World War II in the Pacific, having been deployed shortly before the Battle of Guadalcanal (#93: “Rescue from Manatugo Point” and #94: “Operation Digout”). He is missing the top part of his right ear from a battle.

College

After the war, Whit attended the University of Southern California (with help, presumably, from the Montgomery G. I. Bill and also from the profit of the Spanish coins Whit and Jack found as boys (#297: “Blackbeard's Treasure”), where he studied English and met his future wife, Jenny (as revealed in episode #464: “The Triangle, Part 1”).

Though Whit mentions in #94: “Operation Digout” that he was first studying at Duke University, it's possible that after the war he simply transferred to USC to finish his studies.

Odyssey and Whit's End

Eventually, he moved, along with his wife Jenny, to Odyssey after founding UPF. There, he taught middle school children. His wife's death inspired him to open Whit's End (#19: “Recollections”). After Jenny's death, Whit also considered adopting a young girl named Clara Portland, but Jack made a mistake in letting Whit become close to Clara when Jack knew that Clara would be adopted by someone else.

Leisure Activities

Whit is something of a daredevil who's been known to sky-dive in his spare time. But it's probably safe to say that at the end of the day, he'd rather just read a good book.

Family

Jerry, who died in Vietnam. A Member of the Family, Part 2 mentions Jerry's death is what caused Whit to move the family to Odyssey and to bury himself in spending time with Jason fearing he could be drafted. It also caused a rift with Jana.